Cloak and Dagger

By Frances Romero

For 17 years, after leading a bloody 1973 military coup that toppled the Chilean government and executed then President Salvador Allende, dictator Augusto Pinochet ruled his country with brutal force: thousands of leftist opponents went missing under his regime. In keeping with his previous career as an army general, Pinochet habitually wore an exceedingly sinister-looking army uniform and polished jackboots. But he was also known for donning capes from time to time, which, frankly, was overdoing it: considering his already terrifying reputation, the cape lent the aging despot the appearance of a dapper Dracula.